Sinosauropteryx
| image = Sinosaurop.jpg|thumb | image_caption = An artist's illustration of Sinosauropteryx prima | image_width = 240px | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Sauropsida | clade1 = Dinosauria | superordo = Theropoda | familia = †Compsognathidae | genus = †''Sinosauropteryx prima'' | genus_authority = Ji & Ji, 1996 | type_species = Sinosauropteryx prima | type_species_authority = Ji & Ji, 1996}}Sinosauropteryx was a small theropod dinosaur that lived in the Yixian Formation of China. It was the first dinosaur to be discovered with evidence of feathers, (which were more like fuzz rather than feathers of moder birds) and the first dinosaur for which color was partially determined. This was achieved by examining shapes of preserved melanosomes on one of the dinosaur's fossils, and it was revealed that Sinosauropteryx appeared to be russet-colored, with light gray stripes on the tail. Otherwse, Sinosauropteryx appears to be a typical theropod dinosaur, with shore forearms and a long tail. Description Sinosauropteryx was a small bipedal theropod, noted for its short arms, large first finger (thumbs), and long tail. The taxon includes some of the smallest known adult non-avian theropod specimens, with the holotype specimen measuring only 68 cm (27 in) in length, including the tail. However, this individual was relatively young. The longest known specimen reaches up to 1.07 m (3.5 ft) in length, with an estimated weight of 0.55 kg (1.2 lb). Sinosauropteryx was anatomically similar to Compsognathus, differing from its European relatives in its proportions. The skull of Sinosauropteryx was 15% longer than its thigh bones, unlike in Compsognathus, where the skull and thigh bones are approximately equivalent in length. The arms of Sinosauropteryx (humerus and radius) were only 30% the length of its legs (thigh bone and shin), compared to 40% in Compsognathus. Additionally, Sinosauropteryx had several features unique among all other theropods. It had 64 vertebrae in its tail. This high number made its tail the longest relative to body length of any theropod. Its hands were long compared to its arms, about 84% to 91% of the length of the rest of the arm (humerus and radius), and half the length of the foot. The first and second digits were about the same length, with a large claw on the first digit. The first fingers were large, being both longer and thicker than either of the bones of the forearm. The teeth differed slightly (they were heterodont) based on position: those near the tips of the upper jaws (on the premaxillae) were slender and lacked serrations, while those behind them (on the maxillae) were serrated and laterally compressed. The teeth of the lower jaws were similarly differentiated. A pigmented area in the abdomen of the holotype has been suggested as possible traces of organs, and was interpreted as the liver by John Ruben and colleagues, which they described as part of a crocodilian-like "hepatic piston" respiratory system. A later study, while agreeing that the pigmented area represented something originally inside the body, found no defined structure and noted that any organs would have been distorted by the processes that flattened the skeleton into an essentially two-dimensional form. Dark pigment is also present in the eye region of the holotype and another specimen. Discovery The first fossil specimen of the dinosaur later named Sinosauropteryx prima was uncovered at China in August 1996 by Li Yumin. Yumin was a farmer and part-time fossil hunter who often prospected around Liaoning Province to acquire fossils to sell to individuals and museums. Yumin recognized the unique quality of the specimen, which was separated into two slabs, and sold the slabs to two separate museums in China: the National Geological Museum in Beijing, and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology. The director of the Beijing museum, Ji Qiang, recognized the importance of the find, as did visiting Canadian palaeontologist Phil Currie and artist Michael Skrepnick, who became aware of the fossil by chance as they explored the Beijing museum's collections after leading a fossil tour of the area during the first week of October, 1996. Currie recognized the significance of the fossil immediately. As The New York Times quoted him, "When I saw this slab of siltstone mixed with volcanic ash in which the creature is embedded, I was bowled over." When originally described, the authors named Sinosauropteryx, meaning "Chinese Reptilian Wing. Classification Despite its feathers, most palaeontologists do not consider Sinosauropteryx to be a bird. Phylogenetically, the genus is only distantly related to the clade Aves, usually defined as Archaeopteryx lithographica plus modern birds. The scientists who described Sinosauropteryx, however, used a character-based, or apomorphic, definition of the Class Aves, in which any animal with feathers is considered to be a bird. They argued that the filamentous plumes of Sinosauropteryx represent true feathers with a rachis and barbs, and thus that Sinosauropteryx should be considered a true bird. They classified the genus as belonging to a new biological order, Sinosauropterygiformes, family Sinosauropterygidae, within the subclass Sauriurae. These proposals have not been accepted, and Sinosauropteryx is generally classified in the family of Compsognathidae, a group of small-bodied long-tailed Coelurosaurian theropods known from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Asia, Europe, and South America. Below is a cladogram showing the placement of Sinosauropteryx within Coelurosauria by Senter et al. in 2012. In the Media *''Sinosauropteryx'' 1st Appeared in PBS's Nova Documentary Four Winged Dinosaur. *It was also appeared in a National Geographic Documentary Dinomorphosis. *It’s also featured In a 2nd Program of the 2007 Documentary Mammals Vs Dinos: The Rise of Mammals. The same model was used in a National Geographic Documentary Life After Dinosaurs. Gallery Sinosauropteryx/Gallery Category:Stubs Category:Compsognathids Category:Dinosaurs of Asia Category:Small Carnivores Category:Extinct animals of China Category:Dinosaurs of China Category:Feathered dinosaurs Category:Fossil taxa described in 1996 Category:Famous Dinosaurs Category:Famous animals